


Change of Scenery

by youcouldmakealife



Series: Impaired Judgment (and other excuses) [111]
Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M, YCMAL 'verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22883227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youcouldmakealife/pseuds/youcouldmakealife
Summary: Leaving for training camp is simultaneously great and sucky. Jared wishes he could use a less juvenile word than ‘sucky’, but he can’t: it’s sucky.
Relationships: OMC/OMC
Series: Impaired Judgment (and other excuses) [111]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/849798
Comments: 24
Kudos: 322





	Change of Scenery

Leaving for training camp is simultaneously great and sucky. Jared wishes he could use a less juvenile word than ‘sucky’, but he can’t: it’s sucky. 

And he knows that’s probably the most ungrateful attitude in the world, that every single hockey prospect in the entire province probably just felt a chill down their spine and went ‘someone isn’t appreciating the fact he’s in the _fucking NHL_ ’. And he does. He appreciates the hell out of it, and he loves playing with Julius, is looking forward to getting back into that comfortable co-existence with him, actually kind of likes playing with the Oilers, numerous losses and playing for a lifelong enemy aside. He’s grateful.

Leaving Bryce behind fucking _sucks_. It sucks when he’s packing and Bryce is hovering, looking a little bit like a kicked puppy while he keeps running to the bathroom or the closet to get things for Jared, trying to be useful and just making it take longer. It sucks when Jared’s in the shower the morning he has to leave and finds himself reaching for Bryce’s shampoo, body wash, instead of his own, so maybe his sheets can smell a little like him. It sucks turning down Bryce’s offer to drive him there, because he can’t do a six hour round trip the day before media day, he’ll be wiped, and he can’t afford to be off-guard with the media right now. Or ever, but tomorrow he’s walking in wearing a wedding ring, so: no go. Plus Jared kind of needs his car.

It _really_ fucking sucks when everything’s done, shower, breakfast, everything packed, lunch he was supposed to have on the road, and he knows he can’t keep stalling, that he has to get going or _he’ll_ be wiped for media day, and even though he’s never going to get the kind of scrutiny Bryce does, cameras in his face take enough out of him as it is.

So. Sucky. That’s the word Jared’s going with.

Bryce offers to help Jared with his bags, but there are only two left, the rest already in his car, so it’d be less helping than trailing Jared down to the garage, and it’s better to say goodbye here. For one: fewer cameras. Jared’s pretty sure both their agents would have full on heart attacks if some parking garage footage caught them saying farewell in the form of making out.

“I know,” Bryce says, when Jared points it out, but he sounds sulky about it. “This fucking sucks.”

Jared bets Bryce would go with ‘sucky’ to describe this too. 

“Two preseason games against each other soon,” Jared says. Even if Bryce isn’t in the roster for either of them, and he probably won’t be, Jared will be, so free ride to Calgary or whatever. And Bryce not playing much in the preseason is going to give his schedule a bit more flexibility, hopefully flexibility that will coincide with Jared being available. It’s a three hour drive, not a thirty hour one. Jared knows they’ll find times to carve out. Hell, they could always just book a place in Red Deer, which is an hour and a half from both of them, save the both of them some driving. 

He’s firmly focused on looking on the bright side right now, because he’s got to leave, and if he doesn’t look on the bright side, it’s going to be hard as hell not to turn around. Contract, Jared. Failure to report would be a career ender.

“Oof,” Bryce says when Jared more or less collapses into him, then wraps his arms around him, pressing a kiss to Jared’s temple. If he’s trying to make it harder to leave, it’s fucking working. 

“If you’re trying to make it harder to leave, it’s working,” Jared tells Bryce. Honesty is very important in a marriage.

“I don’t even want you to stay,” Bryce says, in possibly the worst acting job ever. The fact his arms tighten around Jared doesn’t help.

“Gotta go,” Jared says.

“I know,” Bryce says. “Call me when you get there?”

“Okay,” Jared says.

“Like when you actually get there,” Bryce says. “Not when you’re done unpacking, or—”

Jared kisses him, because it’s easier that way. Well, then it’s harder, because he has to pull away eventually, and he doesn’t want to.

Bryce is the one who pulls away, because he’s like, way better at everything to do with their relationship. And hockey. And —

Jared’s going to miss him so fucking much.

“If you start crying I’m going to start crying,” Bryce says, wobbly, like he’s halfway there already.

“Pft, I’m not going to cry,” Jared says. 

“Okay,” Bryce says, in a voice like he’s humouring Jared, and Jared would argue, but like, maybe not the time. The time is for, well —

“You gotta go, babe,” Bryce says.

The time’s for going, he guesses. 

“Yeah,” Jared says, blows out a breath, gets one last kiss that doesn’t last long enough, then grabs his bags, Bryce hovering in the doorway when he walks down the hall like Jared’s going to trip and die on the way to the elevator, or maybe like —

“Quit looking at my ass,” Jared says without slowing.

“Training did you _nice_ ,” Bryce says in like, the sleaziest voice of all time, and Jared’s still laughing when the elevator doors close behind him.

*

The drive’s thankfully uneventful, Jared listening to a couple hockey podcasts on the way up. He manages to haul all his stuff up in two trips, calls Bryce, then his mom, who also wanted him to let her know he got in safe, like he doesn’t spend half the season on the road. He’s just started unpacking when there’s an insistent knock on the door.

“Okay, Halla,” Jared says, when it doesn’t abate as he heads to the front hall.

“Dinner,” Julius says when Jared opens the door.

“Hi, Julius, good to see you after months, I missed you too,” Jared says.

“Dinner,” Julius insists.

“Yeah, okay, I could eat,” Jared says, and Julius impatiently hovers while Jared puts his shoes on, grabs his wallet and his keys.

“Looking big,” Jared says as they head down. Julius had talked to him a bit about his training over the summer. It sounded intense as hell, and the difference is obvious. He must have put on ten pounds just since the wedding.

“You too,” Julius says, and they grin at each other for a minute. No one else is going to say it, probably — maybe ‘hey, you’ve put on some muscle, good’, but Jared’s never going to be one of the bigger guys on the team, and Julius is never going to be anything but one of the skinniest, so they’re just going to have to be their own little mutual appreciation society.

Julius wants sushi, and Jared can’t be bothered to argue about it, so they hit the place Julius spent like, half his rookie paycheque on.

“Ready for media day?” Jared asks.

Julius gives him a look, which is what Jared figured. Julius likes doing media about as much as Jared does, but he’s got to do a hell of a lot more of it. Sometimes it’s gotta suck to be a superstar. And Jared means that wholly sincerely: he’s seen what the Calgary media has thrown at Bryce, and even if the Edmonton media likes Julius a whole hell of a lot better — honestly, Jared half expects them to saint him — that’s still a ton of pressure Jared’s grateful he doesn’t have to deal with. 

“Yeah, me too,” Jared says. 

“Wearing your ring tomorrow?” Julius asks over a ridiculous amount of sushi for him, edamame and chicken teriyaki for Jared.

“Yeah,” Jared says. “Think anyone will notice?” 

Julius shrugs. “Probably,” he says, and Jared chews his lip, a little nervous.

“Think the media will?” Jared says.

“Probably,” Julius says. “Is he wearing his wedding ring tomorrow?” 

“Yeah,” Jared says.

“Media will notice that,” Julius says.

“Yeah, I know,” Jared says. He’s honestly more nervous about that than he is about people noticing his. “Blah.”

“Blah?” Julius asks quizzically.

“I can’t even begin to figure out how to translate that for you,” Jared says. “Sorry.”

“Blah,” Julius muses.

“Pretty much,” Jared says. 

*

Media Day’s not the worst. Not the best either. Any day that has media in it, and not just media, but full on capital letter Media, that’s never going to be Jared’s idea of a good time. But even though he wakes up with his heart in his throat, anxious, it definitely isn’t a worst case scenario kind of day.

Jared gets a new roster photo taken, giving his best game face, which just makes him feel like an idiot. Does his best not to ever look at his left hand, in case someone else notices where his gaze is going, and then notices the ring, and thinks Jared wants them to ask about it. Because he assuredly does not.

Like, yeah, he wanted Bryce and him to be open about their relationship, but that’s with family, friends, people they trust. Media? Fans? Opponents? None of their business, sounds like a shitshow. A shitshow he is willing and able to face if and when that day comes, but for now? No thank you.

No one notices it, thankfully, or if they do they don’t ask, too busy asking Jared questions about Julius. And Jared isn’t even exaggerating: he thinks nine out of ten questions is how he feels about Julius’ line, playing on it, their chemistry, how great is it, isn’t Julius Halla the best fucking thing since sliced bread?

Jared tells the truth: he’s awesome, yup, totally awesome, great to play with him, terrific, etc. But like, as blandly as possible. He doesn’t want Julius to get a big head.

Julius looks small-headed and wrung the fuck out when they leave at the end of the day, and Jared feels bad enough for him he lets him pick where to eat again. It’s the same fucking place. Jared should have expected that.

“Don’t get used to this,” Jared tells him.

“Won’t,” Julius says. “You will be cooking for us.”

“Oh, will I?” Jared says.

Julius gives him a confident nod. The sushi appears to have mobilised him nicely, enough that he gives Jared a hearty eye roll when Jared excuses himself halfway through because Bryce is calling him.

“How’d it go?” Jared asks, mouthing a silent ‘thank you’ to a guy coming in who holds the door open for him.

“It was long as fuck,” Bryce says. “But over, at least.”

“Did the media ask?” Jared says.

“Oh yeah,” Bryce says. “Like, one of their first questions.”

“How’d that go?” Jared asks.

“I said pretty much exactly what Summers told me to say,” Bryce says. “They kept asking but I repeated it until they dropped it.”

“Good,” Jared says.

“You?” Bryce says.

“Too busy asking me about how awesome it is to play with Julius Halla to notice the ring,” Jared says.

“He’s not _that_ great,” Bryce says. 

“We’re the Oilers,” Jared says. “He’s the best player we’ve had in like, a decade.”

“Okay, fair enough,” Bryce says. “It went okay?”

“Yeah,” Jared says. “Just at dinner with Julius, but—”

“Call me when you get home, then,” Bryce says. “Chaz is trying to drag me out to an unofficial team dinner thing but I dunno.”

“Go be social with your team,” Jared says.

Bryce scoffs.

“Go be social, Bryce,” Jared says.

“Maybe,” Bryce allows, and Jared texts Chaz to tell him to keep pushing until Bryce caves before he goes back inside.

“Did they notice the ring?” Julius asks.

“They noticed the ring,” Jared confirms.

“No one knows it is you?” Julius asks.

“Do I look like I’m about to have a nervous breakdown?” Jared asks.

“Good,” Julius says, and then steals a piece of Jared’s tofu.

*

Jared watches the interview before bed that night, courtesy of Greg forwarding an email from Summers. Bryce was right that it was one of the first questions he was asked, and he does better than Jared could have ever expected. He doesn’t deny it, or balk, just confirms he got married over the summer, says it’s his personal life, and that he’d prefer to talk about his professional life, and keeps repeating ‘I’d prefer to talk about hockey’ every time they ask about it until they quit asking. Jared has a few mixed feelings, watching it, but mostly he’s proud of him.

_You did great with the media._ , Jared texts Bryce. Hopefully Summers told him that too, but Jared can’t be sure, and anyway, if Summers said it Bryce probably just scoffed, even if he was happy to hear it. 

_thanks bb_ , Bryce says. _go to bed you have training camp_

_You go to bed._ , Jared texts back.

_go b social go to bed ur so bossy_ , Bryce texts.

_You like it when I’m bossy._ , Jared says, with full confidence.

_we dont have time for phone sex!!!_ Bryce texts him, but Jared gets an incoming FaceTime request, so he doesn’t think Bryce actually means that.


End file.
